Surgical procedures are, for the most part, invasive procedures. That is, when a surgeon needs to operate on the part of the human body, it is advantageous to not have to perform the same or similar procedure twice. Nevertheless, this sometimes occurs for a variety of reasons. For example, in the context of the spine and spinal implants, the environment is a constantly shifting one. Particularly in the context of spinal disc implants, there is a variety of body parts and fluids that result in changing anatomy that can result in the need to perform a second surgery, e.g., to make adjustments or replacements to the spinal implant due to a changing environment around the implant since it was introduced in the disc space.
To avoid subsequent surgeries after an implant surgery, there is, therefore, a need to measure various diagnostic conditions (or indicia) inside the spinal implant (or surrounding area). With such measurements, a doctor or surgeon can thereby determine a need for a “second surgery,” be it a modification or replacement. Ideally, however, the best case scenario is to avoid second or subsequent surgeries. Accordingly, a device that can perform monitoring, diagnosing and most importantly, also respond to such measurements, would be in great demand. Naturally, a device that can do all of the above function in or around a spinal implant would be in beneficial, but there also would be demand for such a system in the human body, or more particularly, inside an orthopedic implant.
One of the problems, however, is the ability to communicate the measurements of the various diagnostic indicia taken inside the body to the doctor or surgeon that is located outside the body, and ideally, to do this remotely. There, therefore, is a need for the ability to remotely transmit measurements of various diagnostic indicia from areas such as spinal implants to areas such as receivers outside the body.
Today, it is possible to manufacture a system that occupies a small area that transmits communications. For example, by using microelectronic substrate materials and nanowires one can manufacture an antenna, which can be used for the transmission of radio frequency (RF) signals. Also, it is possible to create small lightweight sensors that occupy very little space. As mentioned above in the context of a medical setting, however, there is a need for not only sensing and transmitting various diagnostic indicia in small and confined areas, but also diagnosing and responding to such measurements. Further, as mentioned above, if this can be accomplished remotely, a subsequent surgery or surgeries, and the costs and risks that come with them, can be avoided.